My novel, 'Me and Mine' is now available for kindle, computer and app on the Amazon kindle store. Link in my profile. As always I'm grateful for the interest, and to everyone who's bought a copy.

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Dean

Dean wakes up with a tabby on his chest, a black cat by his face and a ginger moggy with only one ear stretched over his feet like a baggy sweater.

"Morning." Sam says, his large forehead coming into view over Dean as he opens his eyes and squints tiredly upwards. "Tea?"

A mug (a rainbow striped cat with 'to my purrrfect girlfriend' painted underneath) clunks down on the side table.

"Breakfast's in five minutes – I'm making waffles." Sam tells him, and disappears.

Somewhere Dean can hear a faint recording of Lady Gaga, with someone singing Liza over the top.

He can smell vanilla batter browning, warmed syrup and...oh bacon – glorious, salty and crackling away in a strangers kitchen.

It's some bizarre mixture, heaven and hell.

He has a pillow clenched under one arm, soft cotton warm against his bare chest. He's never missed anyone as much as he misses Castiel right now. He's never missed the familiar sounds of home as much either – his Dad swearing as he burns toast, Adam singing in the shower and his Mom setting the table.

Another life and he might have woken in his own bed, Castiel at his side instead of three cats and a pillow.

He gets out of bed, slides on a shirt over his boxers, disregarding the purple silk robe on the back of the door as a joke.

In the kitchen Sam is dealing out waffles and strips of bacon like a card shark, pouring amber syrup like a bartender.

"Did you sleep ok?" Sam asks. Dean chooses to ignore the enormous man in a plaid apron with the antlers printed on his chef's hat – choosing instead to focus on Gabriel, who's sitting at the table in a cloud of pale yellow chiffon. Black silk pyjama's underneath.

"Yeah –fine." Dean says, sitting down. "Thanks for the room."

"No problem." Gabriel smiles as he douses his plate in syrup. "But, now you have to tell us what you've got planned."

"I don't know." Dean looks down at his plate. "I guess...try to get a job, get a room somewhere."

"No..." Gabriel rolls his eyes, exasperated. "The plan – the big romantic...thing...that you're going to do to save your oddly silent lady love from the clasps of the anti-faggotry league."

Sam chokes on his coffee.

"Seriously?" Dean glares at the taller man.

"He's got a point – and he will keep on at you until you do something." Sam sighs. "You can't just leave Castiel to the tender mercies of Zach and Balthazar."

"I know, but what can I do?" Dean asks, back stiffening. "I'm got no home, no money – Cas wants to go to college, and to do that he has to play straight for a while."

"Yeah, because that'll work." Gabriel mutters. "You've been away for him for what? Eleven hours and you look ecstatic." Gabriel spears bacon pointedly. "Give it a week, let alone three years, and you'll both go crazy."

"How do you know? Maybe we can...we could do it, ok?" Dean mumbles.

"I couldn't." Gabriel points out. "Could barely stand to be away from Sam for two days. And, let's face it – I am older and infinitely more controlled than you – raging pot of hormones that you are." He reaches over and ruffles Dean's hair.

Dean dips his head, the shorter man has a point.

"On to the plan then." Gabriel says happily. "I've had a few ideas..."

Castiel

'Demystifying the opposite sex'

Ash, Chuck and Castiel sit miserably under the next step, which has been chalked on the board over head. On the portable television in front of them is a video of women doing gymnastics.

"How is this supposed to help?" Ash mutters, "It was made in the sixties – no one finds this attractive...besides, that one on the end? With the snakeskin corset and the big hair...she might be satan."

Chuck huffs a laugh.

Castiel hugs his arms around himself. The blue scrub top he's wearing is a little too big for him, because it was Dean's. It still smells like him, a combination of mint and citrus deodorant and sunny skin.

"At least this is better than the last step." Ash continues, trying to buoy Castiel up with endless chatter. "Simulated intercourse – I've seen pictures from last year in the brochure – people in flesh toned leotards with fig leaves in...inappropriate places." He screws up his face in disgust. "Besides, I don't want Zachariah giving us the talk – he has weird opinions on foreplay, which he is all too eager to share." He shudders, having been cornered into a discussion with the older man earlier in the day.

"Real men don't mess around with romance – they get right on in and just do it." Chuck exclaims, his nasal impersonation perfectly matching their counsellor. Ash laughs, Castiel raises a reluctant half smile.

The TV falls into continuous static.

"Oh darn." Ash smirks. "Whatever shall we do?"

"I'm going for a walk." Castiel says softly, getting up and trailing out of the room in his oversized blue shirt.

"We need a plan." Ash says. "I can't take him being so miserable – he's too sweet to get mangled by Ruby in spandex foliage."

Chuck nods.

Outside, Castiel wanders the woods, scented with fading citrus, wondering if it's all been worth it.

Dean

"This is insane." Dean mutters from the back of the minivan.

"Or is it genius?" Gabriel trills happily from the front seat, his face already streaked with green and brown pain.

"The first one." Sam grunts, dressed like a sensible human being in the driver's seat.

"You'll see." Gabriel grins, pauses then throws his head back. "You'll ALL see – mwhahahah!"

"Jesus." Sam swerves in surprise, gets back on the road and nudges his boyfriend hard in the ribs. "No big laughs in the car – we covered this."

"I still don't see what this is going to accomplish." Dean interrupts. "I talk to Castiel and what? Ask him if he wants to give up his future for little old me? That's not exactly a plan."

"I have commando paint on – that makes it a plan." Gabriel explains patiently. He rubs his thigh against Sam's. "I'm also, fully, commando – just so you know."

"I'll keep that in mind." Sam mutters.

Dean closes his eyes. Why were these his only allies?

The van pulls up around the corner of the fence that surrounds the True Directions house. Dean climbs out, grasps the top of the fence and scrambles up. Behind him he can hear Sam and Gabriel whispering in the minivan.

"Why are you wearing the paint if you're just sitting here with me?"

"For the authenticity."

"Of what?"

"The fantasy, Sam."

"Which means?...oh..."

After than Dean drops over the fence and is mercifully out of earshot. He crouches and creeps through the bushes, approaching the window of the boy's dorm. It's night, and the others should be sleeping. Reaching up, Dean taps on the glass.

After a moment the curtains draw back, revealing a sleepy Ash who blinks, eyes widening. He opens the window.

"Shit man, I thought you were a bear."

Dean frowns at him.

Ash waves him off "Nightmare – what's up?"

"I need to talk to Cas." Dean hisses.

"Sure."

Ash leaves the window, then about five seconds later, returns, looking exceedingly worried.

"He's not here."

"What?" Dean feels a sickening lurch, like the ground has tipped and his heart has moved to compensate.

"I don't know where he is – he went for a walk for a while before we turned in, I just figured he'd come back while we were asleep."

"He never came back?" Dean swallows in panic. "Where did he go?"

"I don't know." Ash confesses.

"You couldn't take care of him for twenty-four hours?" Dean's eyebrows draw together, adrenalin making his limbs feel twitchy. He turns from the window without waiting for Ash to respond, not really in the right frame of mind to be fair to the other teen.

He fairly vaults the fence, lands on the other side in a plume of dust. Dean bangs on the window of the minivan. Gabriel winds down the window.

"Seriously? I was just getting ready to pump the insurgent for information."

"I thought I was the president?" Sam says, frowning in confusion.

"You posed as the president to acquire the nuclear attack codes – really you're..."

Dean thumbs the side of the van.

"Castiel's missing."

Both men sober almost instantly.

"Where did he go?" Sam asks.

"Ash didn't know." Dean glances out into the dark uneasily. "The woods maybe?"

"We'll help you look." Gabriel climbs out of the van with Sam and the three of them approach the woods. "Should we tell Zachariah and Balthazar, get some help?"

"No." Dean says grimly. "They can't find out about this."

"But what if..." Gabriel falters, glances at Sam.

"He hasn't done anything stupid." Dean bites out. "Just help me find him."

Castiel

Castiel sits with his back to a tree, head leaning back against the bark. He feels so tired, his stomach acidic and sore.

His eyelids droop.

Soon, it'll all be over.